Joy died of Filariasis: Expert team

Bhubaneswar: Joy, the five year old male giraffe brought from Alipore zoo, died of Filariasis, said Professor Niranjan Sahoo, a member of the expert team, probing into the death of the long neck animal.

Informing the newsmen Sahoo said, “Joy was suffering from Filariasis after getting bitten by infected ticks.”

“The symptoms of the disease are observed when someone is under severe pressure,” Sahoo added.

Filariasis (or philariasis) is a parasitic disease caused by an infection with roundworms of the Filarioidea type. These are spread by blood-feeding black flies, mosquitoes and ticks. This disease belongs to the group of diseases called helminthiasis. Eight known filarial nematodes use humans as their definitive hosts.

Notably on Tuesday, the State government had constituted a three-member committee to investigate the death of Joy, which died in February 29.

The committee, which is headed by former PCCF Saroj Patnaik, has been asked to submit its report within a week.

Joy was brought to Nandankanan from the Alipore zoo in Kolkata on February 24 under animal exchange programme for mating with the lone female giraffe in the city zoo ‘Khusi’. The State zoo had swapped four of its tigers to get the long-necked animal.

Five-year old ‘Joy’, which took birth at the Alipore zoo, was brought here under the supervision of an eight-member expert team headed by Assistant director of Nandankanan Dr Kamal Lochan Purohit.

‘Joy’ had arrived in Nanndankanan zoological park from Kolkata-based Alipore zoo on February 24.